Democratic PACs Gang Up on Ohio’s Josh Mandel

Some of the nation’s largest Democratic super PACS are pouring money into the Ohio Senate race — all to pay for negative ads against the GOP challenger, Josh Mandel.

Many of the super PACS have spent more money on ads attacking Mandel than on any other U.S. Senate candidate in the nation, Mandel said on Wednesday.

In the polls, Mandel is edging closer to incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown, closing the gap to only 4 percentage points, 42 percent to 46 percent, respectively.

Here are some of the super PACS contributing the most toward attacking Mandel, according to recent campaign-finance data:

Harry Reid's Majority PAC: The super PAC of the Senate majority leader has spent nearly 70 percent of the $2,251,022 on negative attack ads on Mandel. That’s at least $1,558,945 and counting. This amount far exceeds any amount spent on any other Senate race in America. Majority PAC also reported more than $4.5 million cash on hand at the end of June.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU): The Washington-based union has spent $779,249.19 on anti-Mandel ads. By contrast, it has spent $1.3 million nationwide on ads attacking presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney, and the same amount on ads supporting President Barack Obama. The union reports $14 million cash on hand.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has placed $6.3 million in TV ads against Mandel for October and November alone. This statewide buy supplements the $4.4 million placed by the Brown campaign for similar attack ads in October and November — bringing the total to more than $10 million.

The League of Conservation Voters: This organization has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Ohio Senate race, rivaling amounts spent in other races across the country.